The Dark Art of Email Promotions

12/18/2012 1:12PM

Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's and other big holiday retailers reveal to WSJ's Elizabeth Holmes on Lunch Break the dark art of the email promotions that land in your inbox. She is joined by Kelly Cook, senior vice president of marketing at DSW. Photo: Etsy.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... oh ... we can't be cracked the code to your e mail but ... is actually making money anymore Elizabeth Holmes ... has for us right now she's Joinus is well Kelly ... cookie is senior vice president marketing ideas of the sea change is on the palate this was an ... early start with you now is that it seems like it's now in Oakland since I wake up in the morning ... and all the retailers are bombarding me with promotions ... first thing when I open my inbox delay let me and everybody out yes so they wanna be in their first thing in the morning everything the morning or to wait for spring morning and then ... mid morning when you're getting satellite your task they want to let you now about everything they have going on and they wanna be repairing and are very clever and yes the song titles Incorporated that they use my meaning the meat gets from ... its like an executive Eric the company yes ... absolutely so they have Latino rail trucks to get you and and the brand name they came from men assigned to finance the relay will import one ... and they have a couple of seconds to get your attention and if you're game ... to twenty knots at times but it highlights the next game for everything so they won ease that's the kind that you and I went to open ... their checking union side their tail ... I were trying to get high Kelly the day with its mobile but technical difficulties of verbal bringer in just a minute ... I wanna know how to use this information that they have about us because most of these are up to and write ... I say ... I want to hear from J crew ... on ... how ... you like and find info to to to figure me out well so there's two types of ways they retire Sam information right one is that the EU gets so when you sign up you can say I won in receiving email this many times a week I'm interested in the top banks ... things like that so the more relevant emails don't that is if you give them more information and emphatically they track ... Derby he feared if you click on a certain kind of email if you take until website and and if you make a purchase that me they know that in the one in Serbia on more of that to whatever you're doing to your on line activity ... related to that we tell him ... there to try and that the cave in and ... take a back alley not to let me ask you this what specifically are you all doing it DSW keychain ... I've that you found is very effective ... in getting people to activate and act on these e mails ... I think the important thing is for creating and period around to the point and shoot rubber ... I know we have about twenty one million real board member and I recall the program and by the way were enrolling about a hundred thousand ... people a week that typically filled the Ohio State football stadium and we we spend our customers come to an end to get but their preference is for the email and then we honor the preference that I can on exactly what they won a year ... when they tell if they wanna hear it that that really the most effective way to ... doing what they wanted to do in the first place anti how to communicate with them on things beyond just say to get twenty get them to buy something out of his own rewards program are other ways that you can actually ... E-mail Benson doesn't always feel like you're saying bye bye bye that that I have ... no relationship of us ... actually that at that very very can find a lot of that time we cannot about coping that we have gone on for example on her Facebook page ... I'm a wee little odd to have argued that the paper paint and we had around two hundred thousand vans last year we have about one point five million this year ... were growing at a lot of the high at a higher rate and I think that because we talk to them that he no ... when ... asked about the fun things that we have gone on a ... case like ... we have freaky Friday we get treated Tuesday ... and our customers glad to hear about an opportunity to when pre season favorite thing that is the best thing ever ... Brianna were seen in the very top and now I'm king size during the ... early exit on the show was the last word ... see you here ... here we ... took a consumer standpoint that we do get so even if we opted we sometimes look alike execute believe others as many emails in my inbox ... if the people said very clever ways of organizing and sorting through the emails as they come in one of those yet abseiling seem content to filter system and most inboxes ... for you can take them out of your direct impacts the sea on timing descend into specific folder so when you're in the market to buy something you can just go straight to Apple to look at those offers ... or you can be an extreme person like myself ... and Panamanian outcome just or receive email marketing offers and then again when you're ready to get its all there you don't have that are cluttering your inbox with me talking on within the species faces